By Leon Usigbe, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has called on African Union (AU) member countries to strengthen early warning systems to rein in conflicts in the continent.
He has also implored all AU member states to ratify the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), these were contained in Nigerian positions and interventions on these issues were conveyed by the President during separate meetings at the ongoing 36th AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ababa.
The statement explained that the Summit, which is meeting under theme “Acceleration of the African Continent Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Implementation”, was a key opportunity for the Nigerian delegation, led by President Buhari, to emphasize that it has fully embraced the spirit of the AfCFTA, having signed, ratified and deposited the instrument at the African Union Commission.
It said in this light, President Buhari urged all member States, AUC and the Secretariat of AfCFTA to continue supporting the implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement.
He also called on member states that have not yet ratified the Agreement to do so.
At the High-Level side event on “Early Warning Within the Framework of the African Union Peace and Security Council and the Committee of Intelligence and Security Services in Africa (CISSA),’’ hosted by President Teodoro Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, President Buhari noted that ‘‘timely information sharing is vital to successful early warning and response processes.’’
According to the statement, the President, who was represented by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major-General Babagana Monguno (Rtd), warned that when member states deny credible early warning signals of impending crisis, they miss opportunities to address conflict situations before they escalate.
The statement said President Buhari was represented at the event because he was engaged in another meeting, which considered Reports by African Leaders on specific thematic issues at the Summit.
He, therefore, urged member states to cooperate more with the African Union Commission (AUC), Regional Economic Communities (RECs), Regional Mechanisms (RMs) and other relevant partners.
The statement quoted him as saying: ‘‘We also call on Member States to embrace the Continental Structural Conflict Prevention Framework (CSCPF) and and its tools, the Country Structural Vulnerability and Resilience Assessment (CSVRA) and the Country Structural Vulnerability Mitigation Strategies (CSVMS).
‘‘Our continent has contended with various issues of insecurity, including terrorism, violent extremism, unconstitutional changes of Government, among others.
Earlier on Saturday, President Buhari had joined other African leaders to participate at the opening ceremony of the AU Summit, where President Azali Assoumani of Comoros, officially took over the AU’s rotating presidency.
In Addis Ababa on Friday, President Buhari participated at the second Heads of State and Government Summit of the Sahel Region Climate Commission (SRCC).
